RESOLUTION No. 2000-7
INVESTIGATING THE CASES OF ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY
DISAPPEARANCE IN THE INDIAN STATE OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

WHEREAS, in the Indian occupied State of Jammu and Kashmir, enforced disappearances continue unabated;

WHEREAS, the basic rights to organize and peacefully assemble have been constantly denied by the government and other law-enforcing agencies;

WHEREAS, particular laws and other legal measures currently being enforced in Jammu and Kashmir such as the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, the Suppression of Sabotage Act, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) are contradictory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which India is a signatory;

WHEREAS, both the State and central governments have not extended any redress to the survivors of enforced disappearances and the families of the victims;

AND WHEREAS, the repeated demands of the Association of the Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) to form a commission to inquire into all cases of enforced disappearance since 1989 have been refused by the government.
 

NOW, THEREFORE, we, the participants to the Asian and Latin American Lawyers’ Conference on Involuntary Disappearances sponsored by the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) held in Jakarta, Indonesia on November 26-December 2, 2000 RESOLVE, as it is hereby RESOLVED, to:

1. urge the Indian government to adopt measures that would prevent the continued practice of enforced disappearance;

2. remind the security forces deployed in Jammu and Kashmir to respect Protocol II of the Geneva Convention which prohibits combatants from harming the civilian population during periods of armed conflict;

3. call for the punishment of all perpetrators of enforced disappearances and the reparation of all victims and their families in accordance with international standards;

4. move for the abrogation of all laws that perpetuate impunity;

5. recommend the investigation of all cases involving enforced or involuntary disappearances under the auspices of the National Human Rights Commission of India and the State Human Rights Commission;

6. allow the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID) and other international NGOs to visit Kashmir, Punjab, and the northeast States of India such as Nagaland, Mizoran, Assam and Manipur to investigate into the cases of enforced disappearances.

APPROVED on this 30th day of November 2000 at Jakarta, Indonesia.


Attested by:

Signed :

MARY AILEEN D. BACALSO
Secretary General